A cancer survivor, Mrs Jibike Gaya, has advised patients with cancer to fight for life, saying they must be unwavering in their resilience.
Gaya, who survived both cervical and breast cancer in 2017 and 2019 respectively, in an interview in Ilorin on Tuesday, said she first noticed spotting after her normal menstrual period.
According to her, she did not waste time in seeking medical intervention with series of tests which confirmed cancer.
Gaya said initial findings indicated fibroids while cancer was later confirmed.
”It was after I did the biopsy that I was told I had cervical cancer. So I had treatment shortly.
“In October 2018, I had to go for another test and that was when I was told that my uterus was having cancer cells again and I was told to do a total hysterectomy.
“I started hysterectomy in November 2018. The first time I was going to take my bath after the surgery I had on Jan. 4, 2019, I felt a lump in my breastbone,” she said.
Gaya explained that she returned to the hospital for test in February 2019 and was confirmed to have breast cancer.
The news, Gaya said, was devastating although she refused to give up on life.
According to her, the chemotherapy was hard but she endured because of the good support system from her family and a dedicated medical team.
Gaya, who pointed out that the treatment was expensive, urged government to support indigent patients.
The cancer survivor urged patients not to despair but be brave and seek for help at the onset of any abnormality in the body.
She, however, expressed gratitude to God, who she said gave her the grace of life after her double life-threatening ordeal.
“God has been faithful to me,” she said.
NAN
